Skydiver To Attempt Free Fall From The Edge Of Space

Austrian born Felix Baumgartner is known for his daredevil antics. He was the first man to fly across the English Channel with a carbon wing, the first to jump of the Taipei 101, the world's tallest building prior to the Burj Khalifa, and may soon become the first man to exceed the speed of sound, by free falling from the edge of the Earth's stratosphere - a distance of over 120,000 ft!

To execute the jump, Felix, will be transported 23 miles up to the edge of the Earth in a capsule, lifted by a helium balloon. Then wearing, a full pressure space suit and helmet, he will leap off with a pack of data recorders tied around his chest and a parachute attached to his back.

Researchers and scientists who are helping Felix with his preparations, believe that 35 seconds into his five minute long free fall, he will be zooming down at speeds exceeding 680mph or faster than the speed of sound.

If successful, Baumgartner will break four records - Altitude record for free fall, Distance record for the longest free fall, Speed record for the fastest free fall by breaking the speed of sound with the human body and Altitude record for the highest manned balloon flight.

The Red Bull Stratos jump, as it is being called, has been in the works for over two years now, and while Felix loves breaking records, this latest endeavor is also a scientific experiment, to see how the human body will react to a jump from such a high altitude. NASA is particularly interested, since they may be able to use the results for future Space projects.

The current record holder of the highest free fall jump is James Kittringer, who leaped from a distance of 102,800ft. at a speed of 614mph in 1960. While the whole thing may sound a little impossible, if anybody can succeed it will be Felix - For not only has he been preparing for the last two years, he also has an amazing team of scientists and researchers helping him out.

The history-making free fall is scheduled to take place from North America, sometime later this year. While the exact date or location has not been determined yet, it will be broadcast on live television by BBC and National Geographic and on mobile applications too. Stay tuned for further updates!

sources: marketwire.com, itnwire.com, redbull.com